Historians, scholars, families and visitors from across the United States will gather in El Paso today to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1912 Mormon exodus from revolution and violence in Mexico.

One hundred years ago today, El Paso embraced the first trainload of more than 4,500 Mormon refugees fleeing northern Mexico during the Mexican Revolution.

"This is a remarkable story, one that deserves retelling," said Steven Olsen, senior curator for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah.

George W. Romney, then 5 years old and future father of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, was on board one of the Mormon refugee trains that arrived in El Paso, according to Mormon church historians.

REPORTER

Ramón Rentería

He later became governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969 and was secretary of housing and urban development from 1969 to 1973 under President Richard Nixon.

Olsen is among Mormon church officials expressing gratitude to Fort Bliss, El Pasoans and their descendants for what's being described as a historic and not forgotten act of charity.

A series of events, free and open to the public, is expected to attract several hundred visitors to an exhibit at the El Paso Museum of History, a conference at the El Paso Main Library, and a commemorative program and screening of a new documentary, "Finding Refuge in El Paso," at the University of Texas at El Paso Union Cinema.

"For me, this exhibit tells the story of three different communities coming together to address a crisis," Olsen said.

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"The military community, the residential community and the refugee community were all very different in terms of their background and value structure, but each one of them figured out how they could contribute to the solution."

Olsen has organized most of the historic site restorations the Mormon church has done in the past 30 years. He has also done exhibits all over the world.

"We don't mind extending to others the same kind of charity and help that we received coming to El Paso," Olsen said. "Charity is the essence of humanity. That gets at the heart of what it means to be a human being, serving and extending charity to those in need."

Of the more than 4,500 Mormons who fled northern Mexico, an estimated 2,500 women and children were among the first refugees who arrived by train at El Paso's Union Depot. About 200 Mormon refugees stayed in El Paso and raised families.

El Paso has an estimated 9,000 Mormons.

Two of the original nine Mormon colonies in Mexico are still active. Mexico today has an estimated 1 million Mormons, according to most historians. Signs of a strong Mormon presence in Mexico include a temple in Juárez.

Barbara Angus, senior curator at the El Paso Museum of History, figures the exhibit ties in perfectly with the museum's commitment to commemorate events related to the Mexican Revolution of 1910.

"The revolution was a time of great change for the region, a series of events that affected us," Angus said. "There's also an element of gratitude in a historical sense. So this exhibit thanks the people of El Paso for the role they played at that time of comforting the refugees."

Fred Woods, a professor of religious education at Brigham Young University, first pushed the idea for a commemorative celebration in El Paso.

Woods produced "Finding Refuge in El Paso," a documentary that is available in DVD format at the El Paso Museum of History. He will publish a companion book with the same title in November.

The Mormon Historic Sites Foundation in Salt Lake City is the major sponsor of the book, DVD and commemoration project that also involved BYU, UTEP, the El Paso Public Library system, El Paso Museum of History, Fort Bliss and others.

Woods researched archives in El Paso and elsewhere over the past nine years. The research materials he found included first-person accounts.

"To me, this is not just a Mormon story. It's a story about humanity, a very moving story about community and about serving people in need," Woods said.

"As one woman put it, 'The people of El Paso were sort of like angels to us.' "

Ramón Rentería may be reached at rrenteria@elpasotimes.com; 546-6146.

'Finding Refuge' programs

Various events are planned in El Paso today to commemorate the exodus of Mormon refugees from northern Mexico in 1912.

All programs are free and open to the public. Here is the schedule:

9 a.m.: "Finding Refuge in El Paso," an exhibit chronicling the Mormon refugee experience, will open with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the El Paso Museum of History, 510 N. Santa Fe.

10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Scholars will discuss the history of Mormonism in Latin America and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands at the El Paso Main Library Auditorium, 501 N. Oregon.

6:30 p.m.: Organizers plan a commemorative ceremony at the University of Texas at El Paso Union Cinema, where a 30-minute documentary, "Finding Refuge in El Paso," will premiere.